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Studio: Motivational Fitness App

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Studio

New York-based start-up Studio has created an app that allows people to follow treadmill running classes by famous instructors without having to leave their home.

Studio's goal is to make running on treadmills "less boring", with the app highlighting the social element of exercise guided by classes. Users can compete against other runners for a place on the app's leaderboard, or they can run against themselves using its Ghost Running functionality.

While the classes are delivered in an audio format, details on the Studio community and leaderboard can be viewed on the screen of a smartwatch or mobile phone.

Studio's classes are described as "SoulCycle for running". However, instead of adjusting cadence and resistance, users change speed and incline. Studio's instructors have worked for fitness companies like SoulCycle and Orangetheory, and music is at the core of their classes.

Runners can compete against anyone who's taken a particular class before, eliminating the need to exercise at a specific time. The more they run, the more Fitcoins they earn – currency they can use to level up and earn prizes. A Studio subscription costs $14.99 per month.

The app measures the runner's performance based on biometric and speed data provided by an Apple Watch. Using a wearable helps runners make the most of Studio's social aspects and rank on its leaderboards, although the app can be used without a wearable.